Research Portal

Hello and welcome to the Bluelight Research Portal! This page has been created to ensure that researchers don't miss an opportunity to work with us in developing their research participation.

How can we help?

Are you involved in drug-related research?

Do you need to increase/augment your survey or study enrollment?

Are you a researcher looking to access a large, diverse population of individuals who use drugs such as ecstasy, cannabis, amphetamines, hallucinogens, or novel and emerging substances? Bluelight can help get you access these often hard-to-reach populations.

Bluelight is an international message board that educates the public about responsible drug use by promoting free discussion. We advocate harm reduction and attempt to eliminate misinformation. Bluelight is funded by private donations and maintained by a team of volunteers. We have been online since 1999 and currently have a range of approximately 7,000-10,000 active users within any 30 day period.

How have we helped in the past?

Bluelight works with all kinds of research, from student projects through to large academic grants, from online surveys through to clinical trials, across a large range of drug types and practices, and across multiple world regions. We have helped over 100 researchers access participants over the last 5 years. Our discussions of drug use and harms are also increasingly cited in the scientific literature published on novel and emerging drugs.

Some of the more prominent research to which we have directly contributed includes:

What we can do for you?

Promotion of your research project, targeted at your population of interest through our regional forums and our focus forums (where specific drug types are discussions)

Staff who can promote your research through discussions within the community

We curate an online space where you can engage in direct dialogue with your target group, for example, to pilot your study methodology, to engage in collaborative data analysis, and to publish and receive feedback on your findings

A proven track record of driving participant enrollment to exceed research goals

Interested? Please read more and get in touch with our research team

Furthermore, we suggest that you read the following two articles, one regarding Bluelight's research standards, and the other, a commitment to our members regarding their privacy, anonymity and safety:

At this point, you have two options: you can either go ahead and create and create a recruitment thread in the Drug Studies Forum, following the recruitment guidelines; or, if you're wanting greater exposure and recruiting power, you can contact us for more details.

We wish you the best of luck in your research endeavours and hope that Bluelight can play a part in your success!